Thread manufacturing apparatus



April 14, 1953 H. A. KULJIAN THREAD MANUFACTURING APPARATUS 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Apri; 1, 195o [2294 INVENTQR.

Har/y A Kal/aw BY ffm/@y April 14, 1953 H. A. KULJIAN THREADMANUFACTURING APPARATUS Filed April 1. 1956 v4 Sheets-Sheet 4 L" UINVENT'OR. L" Ha/y. Kul/cw BY l w M Jim/wey Patented Apr. 14, 1953THREAD MANUFACTURING APPARATUS HarryvAsdour Kuljian, Meron, Pa.,assignor to The Kuljian Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Application April 1, 1950, Serial No. 153,459

14 Claims. (Cl. 15-256.5)

In the manufacture, or in the processing, of synthetic filaments, thefilament is caused to move longitudinally of a thread storing andadvancing reel formed of a plurality of rotating rolls, and variousliquid re-agents are poured over the filament as it passes throughsuccessive zones along one or more of the rolls.

In order to make sure that the various liquids needed are present insufficient quantities, and because it is difficult, if not impossible togauge the liquid requirements exactly, it is the practice to supply theVarious liquids in relatively excessive amount. But, because at leastsome of the liquids used are expensive, because the presence of liquidsin excessive quantities will result in intermingling of the Variousliquids delivered to adjacent zones on the roll with obviously unde.

sirable consequences, and because the presence of an excessive quantityof one reagent or another may, of itself, produce undesired results, itis desirable to remove excess liquids so as to regu late the quantitiesof the various liquids which are allowed to remain on the filament or onthe rolls during movement of the filament through successive zones alongsuch roll. It is also desirable that the excess liquids be removed, asfar as possible, in a segregated manner so as to facilitate reclamationand reconcentration of the variousliquids. Y To these ends, I haveprovided an improved, combined scraping or wiping and segregating devicewhereby excess liquids can be removed, in a segregated manner, from thesurface of one or more rolls of the reel. A scraping device of the typeset forth mus contact the roll with an accurately controlled andsubstantially constant pressure so as to remove liquids in a uniformmanner.

It is therefore a further object of the invention to produce an improvedcombined scraping and segregating device which is adjustable and which,having been adjusted, will contact the roll with the desired uniformpressure.

A still further object is to produce an improved scraping andsegregating device which Will be inexpensive to make and easy to installor remove.

These and other objects are attained by my invention as set forth in thefollowing specification and as shown in the accompanying drawings inwhich f Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a synthetic filamentmanufacturing apparatus embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 on Fig. 1, certain partsbeing omitted.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view looking in the direction of line 4 4on Fig. 6 and show the structure of the combined scraping andsegregating device embodying the invention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in section and partly inelevation, showing details of construction of the scraping andsegregat-` ing device and its relation to the adjacent rolls.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6 6 on Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, perspective view of the combinedscraping and segregating device shown detached from the reel but in theoperative position it assumes when in use upon the reel.

Fig. 8 is similar to Fig. l but showing the manner in which the scrapingand segregatingdevice may be removed from the reel.

Fig. 9 is similar to Fig. 5 but showing a secondV embodiment of thecombined scraping and segregating device.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary top plan view looking in the direction of lineIll-IIJ on Fig. 9.

Fig. ll is similar to Fig. 5 showing a third embodiment of the combinedscraping and segregating device.

Fig. l2 is a fragmentary top plan view looking in the direction of vlinevI2--l2 on Fig. l1.

Fig. 13 is similar to Fig. 5 but showing a fourth embodiment of thecombined scraping and segregating device.

Fig. 14 is a reduced top plan view of the device shown in Fig. 13.

Fig.. 15 is a fragmentary enlargement showing a detail of structurewhich is omitted from the4 other figures for clarity of illustration.

The apparatus illustrated includes a .thread storing and advancing`device formed of a plurality of rolls l0, Il, I2, I3, I4, 15,16 and l1which are arranged about a fixed central roll I8. The shafts of therolls lll-I1 are journalled for rotation in bearings, not shown, formedin, or carried by opposite end plates 20 and 22, and the rolls arerotated about their axes by motor M the shaft oi which carries a gearwhich meshes with gears on the'adjacent ends of the shafts of the rolls.Since the rolls may be rotated in any desired manner and since the meansfor rotating the rolls forms no part of the present invention, themanner in which the rolls are rotated is not shown nor described indetail. lIt is suiiicient to point out that all the rolls are rotated atthe same speed and that they are all rotated by a single, central gear.The end plates 20 and 22 are carried by central roll I8 which in turn issupported at one end thereof by a suitable framework 24 so that thethread storing and advancing reel is mounted in cantilever fashion. Theaxes of the rotating rolls are skewed with reference to the axis of rollI8 (or to an imaginary, central, horizontal axis) in such a manner thatif the rolls are rotated and if a filament 28 is wound about thesupported, or right hand end of the reel, the'lament will move in theform of a helix H, from the supported to the unsupported end of thereel.

The filament 28 may be in the nature of a freshly coagulated strandwhich is produced by extruding an appropriate solution through a nozzle38 into a suitable coagulating bath 32, or

it may be in the nature of an already formed filament fed to the reelfrom a spool or other source. The freshly coagulated filament is passedover one or more guide wheels 34 and one or more godet wheels 36 in anydesired manner.

In order to complete the regeneration of a freshly coagulated filament,or in order to process other types of larnents, various liquid reagentsand washes are supplied to the filament as it moves longitudinally ofthe reel. As shown, a series of pipes PI, P2, P3, P4, P etc. arearranged to deliver the respective treating liquids to the lament as thefilament passes through zones on the roll I4. It will be noted that theendmost pipe P5 is spaced inwardly from the left hand end of the reel soas to provide a.drying zone 46 in which no liquid is delivered andinwhich heat is applied to dry the filament.

As stated the quantity of the liquid delivered through each of the pipesis in excess of the exact requirements of the filament and if nothing isdone, liquid delivered from pipe P2 will tend to ow longitudinally ofthe roll and to mix with liquids delivered from pipes PI and P3. Also,the excess liquids which will drop from the rolls will be Wasted.

In order to remedy this condition, I have provided the improved scrapingand segregating device best shown in Figs. 4, 6, '7 and 8 and I have solocated the scraping and segregating devices asto Ycause them to act onthe rolls in the manner best shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

In the drawings I show the use oftwo such devices 44 and 46 locatedbetween, and arranged to .act on, rolls I4 and I5 but it will beunderstood that additional scraping and vsegregating devices may beassociated with as many of the remaining rolls as may be desired.

Since, except for being placed backto back, as shown in Figs. 2, 5, 7and 8, the devices44 and 46 are identical, a description of one of thesedevices will sui'lice.

Referring now to Figs. 4 to 8, it will be seen 4 the enumeratedcharacteristics. It is also pointed out that the strips 52 and 54 andthe rivets 56 should always be of such material and such shape as not toscratch the rolls and they should be easy to cast on machine.

The horizontal strip 52 is intended to scrape liquid off the entiresurface of a roll which it contacts and the vertical strips arevintended to A prevent orminimize intermingling of a liquid dethat eachscraping and segregating device is formedof an elongated shell 50 whichis curved transversely and the curvature of which corresponds to thecurvation of the rolls forming the reel.

The shellV 50 is preferably made of some mate-A rial which is light andwhich is not corroded by the acid, alkali and other liquid reagentswhich are usually used in the treatment of the filament. A number ofsynthetic materials such as methyl methacrylate, phenol condensate etc.are available and will work satisfactorily. On the inner concave face ofthe shell I provide a longitudinal strip 52 and intersection transversestrips 54 all of which are preferably detachably secured in position byrivets 56. The strips 52 and 54 and the rivets 56 may be made of thesame material from which the shell 50 is made, or they may be made fromsome other material possessing livered by one pipe such as pipe P3 withthe liquids delivered by pipes P2 and P4. To this end, the strips 54 arespaced so that, when they contact the roll, they denne zones of thedesired lengths therebetween, and it will be seen from Fig. l thatthedischarge nozzles of the pipes register withthe centers of the zonesdened by juxtaposed strips 54. The liquids scraped oi one roll byrhorizontal strip 52 drain out through openings 68 located above strip52, as shown in the right hand device 44 in Fig. 8,- and the liquidsscraped off thev other roll are drained through openings 62 locatedbelow horizontal strip 52 as shown in the left hand device 46 in Fig. 8.It will be understood that whether the drain openings are placed aboveor below the horizontal strip 52 depends on the direction of rotation ofthe roll. As shown in Fig. 5 rolls I4 and I5 rotate in coun-`terclockwise direction and therefore liquids scraped off roll I4 bystrip 52 on shell 44 will collect above this strip while the liquidsscraped Y from roll I5 by strip 52 on shell 46will collect below thisstrip. As will be best seen from Fig. 4 there is at least one drainopening between any two strips 54 and where the space between any twostrips 54 is relatively large, or where the amount of liquid deliveredis relatively large, two or more drain openings can be provided as shownat 63 in Fig. 4. Also the Ysizes of the openings can be varied as shown.

In order to prevent intermingling of the various liquids as they flowout through their respective drain openings, walls or partitions 64 areprovided on the outer, convex surfaces of the shells 5I). By thisarrangement, a liquid owing out through the left hand end opening 60 inFig. 6 will be confined by the ribs 64 located on either side of thisopening and so on.

To the same end, I provide each of the drain openings 62 with a pouringspout or lip 66, which is only shown in Fig. l5, whereby liquids flowingthrough the various drain openings will overshoot the convex outersurface of the shells instead of flowing over the curved surfaces of theshells. In practice, either the partitions 64, or the spouts 66, orboth, can be used depending on requirements. It is to be understood thatthe pouring spout 66 is to be considered as being shown in all of theother figures lof the drawing.

The shells 56 are provided with corresponding upper and lowei` lugs i0in which are mounted upper and lower spring rods 'I2 and I3 so that whenthe shells are placed back to back as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the rodsI2 will be parallel. In order to force the shells apart and cause themto contact the rolls I4 and I5, I use the detachable spacer S which isbest shown in Fig. 8. The spacer S has an elongated body portion 'I4 thewidth of which is .greater than the space between rods 72 on one shelland rod I3 on the other shell. upper and lower notches i6 for receivingrods 'I2 and upper and lower notches 'I8 for receiving rods 13.

To apply devices 44 and 46 to the reel, they are placed in the positionshown in Figs. 2 and 5 with the concave faces of the shells 56 facingAlso, the spacer is provided with rolls Ill and l5. The spacer S is theninserted between rods Ll2 and i3 with the broad surfaces of the spacerparallel with these rods. When the spacer has been moved downwardlyuntil the notches 76 and '8 are in registration with rods 'l2 and T3,the spacer is rotated to the position of Fig. 7. In this position, therods 'l2 and 13 are seated in the corresponding notches T5 and 'I8 andbecause the width of the body portion 'i4 of the spacer if greater thanthe space between the rods i2 and i3, the rotation of the spacer to theposition of Fig. 7 tends to bow the spring rods outwardly, or in thedirection of the rolls. This bowing of the springs reacts against theshells and causes the strips 52 and F14, on the concave faces of shells5G, to contact the adjacent surfaces of rolls lli and I5 with ayielding, following pressure. By this arrangement, the action of thespring rods will compensate for reasonable wear of the rolls lil and lor of the strips E2 and 54 and will thus prolong the useful life ofthese parte. When the capacity of the spring rods 'I2 and i3- to ex isexhausted, a somewhat wider spacer may be used, or new spring rods maybe installed, or the strips 52 and 5d may be replaced, as may beindicated. By making the strips 52 and 54 softer than the rolls, thestrips will wear out instead of the rolls and since the strips can beeasily and inexpensively replaced, great economy and convenience areachieved.

When the spacer is in the position of Fig. 7, the devices 44 and it areheld iirmly in position. When the spacer S is turned through 9G degrees,the spacer itself and the devices dii and 56 are readily removable.

.In Figs. 9 to 14 I show different arrangements for mounting thescraping and segregating devices d!! and 43. Since the structure of theshells 5B, the strips 52 and i-'i and the drain openings 60 and 62 willbe the same in all the embodiments shown, these parts will not be againdescribed and will be designated by the same reference characters in allfigures of the drawing.

In the embodiment of Figs. 9 and 10, one of the shells is provided witha plate 80 having a shouldered seat 82 and the other of the shells isprovided with a plate 84 having a linger 86 adapted to engage the seat52. It will be noted that the outer, contiguous faces of the plates 80and 84 are convex so that when the parts are in the position of Fig. 9the portions of the plates 8B and Bs and of the shells 5G which arebelow a line passing through the centers of rolls i4 and i5 will tend torotate in opposite directions, thus urging the strips 52 and 5d carriedby the concave sides of the shells 5@ to contact the adjacent surfacesof rolls I4 and l5 with a following pressure which is a function of theforces tending to rotate the devices d4 and 46. Because the combinedwidth of the plates 8i! and 84, at their upper ends is greater than thedistance between the central peripheries of rolls I4 and l5, the shells55 can not fall or pass downwardly between the rolls. On the other hand,the left hand shell 5@ which carries plate Bri can be readily liftedupwardly, as viewed in Fig. 9. whereupon the other shell can also belifted.

In Figs. 11 and l2, I use a threaded stud B which engages upper andlower wedges 83 and I provide T-shaped members 96 having recesses 92 forengaging the spring rods i2 and i3. The ribs or stems S of the T-shapedmembers 9i) slidably engaging grooves 95 in the adjacent sides of thewedges 83. By this construction, if the stud 86 is turned in onedirection, the wedge blocks are backed off, or moved away from eachother to decrease pressure against the spring rods 'l2 and 73, and ifthe stud is turned inthe opposite direction the wedge blocks are movedtowards each other and exert increased pressure against the spring rods,thus regulating the pressure with which the strips 52 and 54 on theconcave faces of the shells 5D will contact the rolls I4 and l5. Toremove the devices 615 and 46 the stud 86 is turned in the firstmentioned direction until the upper and lower wedge blocks B3 arecompletely disengaged from the stud.

In Figs. 13 and 14 the opposite shells 50 are pivotally secured togetherby means of a rod or pin 96 which rotatably engages lugs Sl carried bythe outer, convex sides of the shells 50. In this arrangement flatsprings 93 are secured to one of the shells, as at Q9, and serve to urgethe shells apart.

In all cases, the various liquids removed by strip de and drainedthrough openings 5i) and 2 are received in a trough it@ located belowthe lower edges of the shells Eil. The trough HJG is provided withpartitions it?. which form separate compartments for receiving thevarious liquids. A drain pipe iii-l leads from each compartment in thetrough to conduct the liquid reaching such compartment to a point ofdisposal or reclamation.

The trough may be detachably secured in position in any desired mannerand the pipes leading from the trough are also detachably secured tofacilitate assembling and dismantling of the parts.

What I claim is:

1. A wiping device for removing liquid from the surface of a rotatablemember, said device including a body, a plurality of wiping elementscarried by said body and adapted to contact said member. and meansurging said body and said wiping elements against said member with afollowing pressure, one of said wiping elements extending longitudinallyof the axis of rotation of said member and at least one of said wipingelements extending transversely of the axis of rotation of said member.

2. A device for removing liquid from an elongated rotatable roll, saiddevice including an elongated, transversely arcuate shell, wiping meanscarried by, and projecting beyond, the concave face of said shellincluding a first strip extending longitudinally of the axis of rotationof the roll and a second strip extending transversely of said axis ofrotation, and means urging said shell and said wiping means against saidroll with a following pressure.

3. The structure recited in claim 2 in which said strips are formed of amaterial which is softer than the material from which the roll is made.

4. The structure recited in claim 2 in which said shell has at least oneopening formed therein between a longitudinal edge thereof and saidi'lrst strip.

5. A device for removing liquid from an elongated rotatable roll, saiddevice including an elongated, transversely arcuate shell, wiping meanscarried by the concave surface of said shell and including an elongatedstripdisposed between the longitudinal edges of said shell andprojecting beyond the concave surface thereof and a plurality of spaced,transverse strips disposed at an angle to said elongated strip andprojecting beyond the concave surface of said shell, and means forurging said shell and said

